Mairead Corrigan Mcquire

Mairead Corrigan Maguire "won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 with Betty Williams for her work to end the violence in Northern Ireland. Mairead was the aunt of the three Maguire children who died as a result of being hit by an Irish Republican Army (IRA) getaway car after its driver was shot by a soldier. Mairead responded to the violence facing her family and community by organizing massive peace demonstrations appealing for an end to the bloodshed.

"Mairead is co-founder, along with Betty Williams and Ciaran McKeown, of Peace People, a protest movement committed to building a just and peaceful society through nonviolent social action. She currently serves as Honorary President.

"Prior to winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Mairead worked as a personal secretary to the Managing Director of a Northern Ireland firm and volunteered with a catholic lay organization where she began her work with young people and prisoners. A graduate of Ecumenical Studies from the Irish School of Ecumenics, Mairead works with inter-church and inter-faith organizations, and is a member of the International Peace Council. She is a Patron of the Methodist Theological College, and Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education.

"Mairead has traveled extensively, including regular visits to the Middle East and Israel-Palestine to support Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear whistleblower held in Israel for 20 years, 18 of which he has spent in prison. She urges the Israeli Government to release Vanunu and allow him to leave Israel.

"Mairead is an active pacifist passionately committed to nonviolent social and political change. She believes, “When we reject nuclear weapons and war, when we uphold Human Rights and International Law, when we build nonkilling, nonviolent societies and world, refusing to kill each other but seeking nonviolent solutions to our problems, then we will have come of age as the human family.”

"Mairead is the author of “The Vision of Peace – Faith and Hope in Northern Ireland,” published by Orbis Books, which has been translated into Tamil and Urdu."


 * Founder, Nobel Women's Initiative
 * Advisory Board, Points of Peace Foundation
 * Advisory Board, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
 * International Council of Advisors, International Campaign for Tibet
 * Member, Committee of 100 for Tibet
 * International Advisory Committee, SIPAZ
 * Former Member, International Fellowship of Reconciliation